More IVs, and hospital vs home

It's quite typical; for the last two years I refused to take cipro on the grounds that it just didn't seem to work for me anymore. I think I'd taken it so often that its effects were just getting lesser by the dose. It got to the point where I was loosing my appetite and following those retarded 'no milk two hours before or after each dose' rules for absolutely no reason. So this time, when I had a fortnight of it, it surprised me that it seemed to be working. Yeah, I lost my appetite, more badly than I have in a long time; I was barely eating, two bites and I'd be full, and staring at a full plate getting frustrated at myself because of how much I really, really wanted to eat, but just couldn't seem to manage it.

And then...

Yeah I caught a cold. Fuck sake. Not only did it make me feel like shit, but it's done a number on my chest that even the remaining week of cipro couldn't fix. So now I'm left with no sleep, the worst cough I've had in a long time, no appetite, and gradually pissing off anyone who keeps getting woken up by my 5am coughing fits. I'd have more sympathy for them if I wasn't so knackered. Because I don't want to spent what should be summer feeling like crap and coughing till I'm blue in the face, I've asked for IVs. It's a month since I finished my last ones, which is a shade annoying, as I wanted to be able to last till my next check up on the 17th august. There is no way that's happening. This means that I'm going to be IV'd up for my 21st, possibly a friend's 21st party, and most likely for the duration of the little bit of sun the has peeked out on the occasional day or two, but fuck it, IVs on a whole don't annoy me. The things that do annoy me are more along the lines of the uber awkward showers (hate baths, I cannot sit still so the idea of having a relaxing bath and doing nothing is just insane to me) and the slicing of my hands when making up the heparin syringes (cos whilst my hospital recognises that I'm lazy enough to need my IVs sent already made up, they don't send me the heparin and saline already made up too. Hard life...) But all that is way better than dealing with the cough from hell and zero energy. Tingly fingers and drunkeness from colo isn't too bad, and the majority of people I know have seen me do IVs so I don't even have to leave to do them in a group anymore, or cover up the ever sexy tagaderm covering the needle, cos they all know what it is.

The main thing for me is doing IVs at home. I know plenty of people who go into hospital for all of, or at least the majority of their IV courses. To me it seems insane; at home I've got my own bed, decent food, good tv, endless (nice!) cups of tea and the ability to leave and go somewhere whenever I want, energy permitting. In hospital, providing that the ward isn't too full and you manage to claim one of the 6 CF unit rooms, you've got freeview tv, and plenty of tea, even if its hospital tea in a cup that's empty after one big gulp. The food is okay, they've definitely improved the CF menu rather than making us choose from the truely disgusting normal one, but it doesn't change the fact that you're constantly being annoyed by the shit view of buildings, various nurses/physios/drs coming in all the time, insane boredom, having to pay for the internet, and the guilt that people have to drive 30 mins and pay the shocking prices of the multistory car park just to see you for a couple of hours. Also, whenever I've been admitted, they like to give you your independence by letting you do your own IVs (which they also appreciate if they're busy or understaffed). This is not appreciated by me when they come in at 6am in the sodding morning, and expect you to be awake enough not to miss your port line and accidentally stab yourself in the hand with a syringe, or knock everything off the table and decorate the floor. This is why home IVs are better for me. I change the times so the earliest dose is 8am, 10 at the latest, and because it's only two doses a day the other one is done 12 hours later. If I really can't do my morning ones, this is where my lovely parental units come in and do it for me, which helps the whole 'rest' thing people like to have whilst on IVs (and probably why they like to go into hospital, providing they don't have to go through the whole 6am nonsense themselves). The only reason I ever go in is because they have something I don't have at home, say, when I need oxygen. On a whole, it's always home IVs for me (mostly) plus with the few CF beds they have on my ward, I'm sure they're grateful too.

In short, bring on the drugs! And just hope I don't catch yet another cold, which I seem to have developed a talent of whenever I'm on antibiotics.